CHAPTER 83: FRIED CHICKEN

A man was playing in front of his computer, lost in the glow of the screen. He was playing an old retro game, one he used to sink hours into when he was younger.

It was quite a fun game with a lot of things jumbled together. It had multiple endings, a lot of collectible NPCs that can join your party, and four styles of gameplay. The main turn-based one. The duel system turns it into something like a fighting game. Then there was a strategic, grid-based battle system, even a tower defense, and the last one was similar to a galge game where you make dialogue choices to increase affinity with certain NPCs.

He had just finished one of the many branching playthroughs and reached for an energy drink from the mini-fridge beside him.

"No matter how many times I play this game, it’s always fun."

He drank his energy drink and scrolled through the many walkthroughs of the game he was playing.

Even after fifteen years, new content was still being uncovered. Secret endings. Unused NPCs. The fanbase remained alive, and so did the game’s mystery.

’Even now, gamers are still finding routes we never knew existed... The devs truly were insane geniuses.’

The man couldn’t help but admire the ability of the people who made one of his favorite games of all time.

He then started scrolling through the various blogs about the game. He then noticed a weird blog that he thought was a fan fic, but it posed an interesting question.

[Hey, I started thinking what if the game isn’t just a game, but a real world. The reason why it has so many endings and so many characters that feel real is because it is.]

When the man read the first line of the blog, he couldn’t help but smile. It was the kind of thought he used to entertain back when he was a teenager.

There had always been theories like that floating around. Some people believed reality itself was a simulation, or a dream conjured by some godlike being.

’Yeah... who’s to say this game isn’t another reality?’

His eyes drifted back to the screen.

’The way the NPCs react... The way your choices ripple through everything, even across routes. The weight of every decision. Maybe it really is another world.’

He didn’t laugh this time. Just leaned in a little closer, the words on the screen blurring slightly as his thoughts began to drift.

He didn’t know it, but the room around him had started to soften, the edges of things just a little too still. Too quiet. As if time was waiting for something.

Still, he continued scrolling through the blogs. After a while, he felt a bit hungry. He looked to his side, and he saw that the cup noodles he had stored up were all used up. There was nothing left.

’Now that I think about it, when was the last time I went out to eat?’ The man felt a little confused as there seemed to be missing pieces in his memory.

’Must be because I’m hungry. I bet after I eat my fill, I’ll remember whatever it is I forgot.’

He stood up slowly and stretched, his eyes drifting to the wall across from his desk.

There, hanging in the dim light, was an old poster of another game he used to play, which was called Last Fantasy.

’I think I remember some people saying that Last Fantasy is set in the future of Aerok. I can’t remember why they thought that, better check it out later, but for now I need to eat.’

***

He took his wallet, his phone, changed his clothes, and headed out. When he was about to leave his apartment, he felt something was wrong. It’s like the moment he steps out of his apartment, he won’t be able to come back. The man shook his head.

’What am I even thinking about? It’s not like my apartment will suddenly blow up or something. Once I finish eating, I’ll play Last Fantasy since I’m thinking about it.’

The man shook off his unease and opened the door. He went outside, half expecting something to happen, but nothing did. He looked behind him the door to his apartment was still there.

"Of course, what was I even thinking. Okay, then it’s been a while, so let’s go and eat some fried chicken."

The man happily stepped out of his apartment building and walked on the sidewalk. While he was walking, he saw a rather tall, bulky figure with silver hair.

’A foreigner?’

It was the first thought that popped into his mind, but then he felt like he knew who that person was, but as he turned around to look closely, the man disappeared into the crowd.

’Seriously, I lost sight of such a huge figure?... Whatever, I’d better just get my fried chicken and head home.’

The man continued walking through the busy streets. It didn’t take long before he arrived at his favorite fried chicken place.

The man saw several figures that felt familiar, but he was not sure. They had weird hair color; most likely, they dyed it.

’Are these guys cosplayers? I think I’ve seen who they were cosplaying as before, but I can’t remember too clearly. Must be some old school anime or something.’

He shrugged it off, ordered his food, and stepped back outside with a warm box in hand. The comforting smell helped ease the weird tension in his chest.

As he was walking back home, he noticed that the street back home had fewer people than normal, and one of the street lights was flickering.

’Feels like a horror movie.’

The man continued walking back to his apartment building when he suddenly heard screaming, the sound of explosions everywhere. He looked around and saw smoke rising from a lot of different places.

"What the f*ck is happening?!"

The man grew confused, heart pounding, he yanked out his phone, searching for answers.

Social media feeds were flooded with chaos. There were many videos now saying it was the end of the world. He then clicked on one of them.

What he saw in that video was a monster-like creature the size of a bear. The first thought the man had when he saw the video.

’Was CGI this good already?’

He quickly checked the other videos, and all of them were about monsters. The man then saw many people running towards him, and behind them was a pack of flame-covered hounds, their fur crackling like living embers.

The man started running away. Behind him, he could hear the sound of people getting torn apart. The man did not look back, he did not dare to do so, he ran with all his might. Out of the corners of his vision, he saw people getting dragged down, mauled, or torn apart.

’Seriously, what the f*ck is happening right now!’

The man shouted in his mind, and it was then that, just as he turned the corner, his foot caught something.

He tumbled to the ground, pain jolting up his arm and legs. He tried to rise, but his body wouldn’t respond fast enough. He saw that one of the fire wolves was about to pounce on him, he closed his eyes, and waited for death, but it did not come.

He opened his eyes and saw a figure slicing through the monsters. The man could not get a good look at his saviour as his sight was hazy. He felt his head aching a bit, and he could not hold it as he fell unconscious.

***

Lucen opened his eyes, sitting up slowly as a dull ache throbbed in his head. He seemed to have seen something important, something he had forgotten, but he could not recall at the moment.

It was just a dream, or maybe a memory twisted by fantasy. Whatever it was, it felt distant now, like the echo of a life that had already ended.

"You’re finally awake, young one." Lucen heard Faust’s voice and was about to respond when suddenly someone appeared before him.

"Young master!" Sir Thalos’s face was suddenly in front of him. "It’s all my fault, young master. I didn’t train your body hard enough, which was why you couldn’t withstand such pain. Don’t worry, once we have time, I’ll make sure to strengthen our training."

"It’s a good thing you woke up, little leader," Harlik said, pointing to the two sacks of coin visible beside him.

"I hope you had a nice sleep, little leader," Mark said with a smile.

"I think I had a dream of something from long ago... For some reason, I also want to eat some fried chicken."

"Then, when we get home, we’ll ask the chefs to cook you whatever you want."

When Lucen heard what Sir Thalos said, he knew that the chefs could make fried chicken, but it wouldn’t be like the one he remembered.

’I guess that would be good enough.’ Lucen thought to himself as he smiled, feeling oddly nostalgic.